Kept my monthly appointment with the kidney specialist on Wednesday.
He said that I looked good for having had open heart surgery two weeks prior (on January 26).
Hemoglobin numbers are still low, so my procrit dosage was increased, and an iron infusion has been scheduled.
Protein number is low, so increased protein intake has been prescribed.
Coumadin (polite word for rat poison, Warfarin) is being adjusted for increase INR to prevent clotting around my new pig valve.
Most of the other numbers are looking good.
Still sore, and get tired easily. I sleep a lot too.
Anemia explains the lack of energy.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Monday, February 08, 2010
Super Bowl Commercials
Some Super Bowl commercials stood out for me.
NO, you do NOT need to WATCH the Super Bowl on TV to see the commercials. Wait until the game is over and then watch the AD BLITZ channel on YouTube.
1. Doritos commercial where the A**HOLE sees the anti-bark collar on a dog at the park and tries to get it to "speak" (and shock itself) for a Doritos.
The dog wants the Doritos, and removes the anti-bark shock collar and places it on the neck of the A**HOLE who the dog then shocks and immobilizes onto the ground, freeing up the bag of Doritos.
Good job, dog - you won against those who would torment you!
I only wish the same for Northrop Grumman employees.
2. Snickers commercial. Guys are playing football in the mud. The QB rags on one guy who is playing like (and looks like Betty White) for his poor play. His girl friend gives him a Snickers bar and he turns into his regular self.
The QB, on the other hand, plays (and looks like Abe Vigoda) in the next play. The tagline of the commercial - when you are hungry, you are not yourself.
We do what we need to do, no matter how ugly it looks. Northrop Grumman employees can surely identify with that.
3. Dodge Ram Charger. A list of stuff that men have to put up with (get to work at 8:00AM, attend boring two hour meetings, keep mouth shut instead of telling the truth, leaving the toilet seat down, etc.) to get along in life, and it ends with "I get to drive the car that I want", which is the Dodge Ram Charger, Man's Last Stand.
Some men are LUCKY to be rewarded for what they put up with. Not every Northrop Grumman employee will be rewarded for what they put up with at Northrop Grumman.
4. Bridgestone tire commercial. Dark and rainy night on the open highway, a car is stopped by a well-armed group of men who demand his Bridgestone tires.
The driver of the car pushes his very hot wife dressed in black leather out of the car, backs up and turns his car around, making his escape.
"I said your LIFE, not your WIFE!"
Some married men know what's really important!
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
NO, you do NOT need to WATCH the Super Bowl on TV to see the commercials. Wait until the game is over and then watch the AD BLITZ channel on YouTube.
1. Doritos commercial where the A**HOLE sees the anti-bark collar on a dog at the park and tries to get it to "speak" (and shock itself) for a Doritos.
The dog wants the Doritos, and removes the anti-bark shock collar and places it on the neck of the A**HOLE who the dog then shocks and immobilizes onto the ground, freeing up the bag of Doritos.
Good job, dog - you won against those who would torment you!
I only wish the same for Northrop Grumman employees.
2. Snickers commercial. Guys are playing football in the mud. The QB rags on one guy who is playing like (and looks like Betty White) for his poor play. His girl friend gives him a Snickers bar and he turns into his regular self.
The QB, on the other hand, plays (and looks like Abe Vigoda) in the next play. The tagline of the commercial - when you are hungry, you are not yourself.
We do what we need to do, no matter how ugly it looks. Northrop Grumman employees can surely identify with that.
3. Dodge Ram Charger. A list of stuff that men have to put up with (get to work at 8:00AM, attend boring two hour meetings, keep mouth shut instead of telling the truth, leaving the toilet seat down, etc.) to get along in life, and it ends with "I get to drive the car that I want", which is the Dodge Ram Charger, Man's Last Stand.
Some men are LUCKY to be rewarded for what they put up with. Not every Northrop Grumman employee will be rewarded for what they put up with at Northrop Grumman.
4. Bridgestone tire commercial. Dark and rainy night on the open highway, a car is stopped by a well-armed group of men who demand his Bridgestone tires.
The driver of the car pushes his very hot wife dressed in black leather out of the car, backs up and turns his car around, making his escape.
"I said your LIFE, not your WIFE!"
Some married men know what's really important!
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Saw Something Northrop Grumman Does NOT Know?
I saw this on-line that runs counter to everything that Northrop Grumman management believes it knows:
Study: Employees with flexible hours work harder, are more satisfied
Northrop Grumman management somehow just knows that the 9/80 work schedule program is favored by the majority of those employees who vote for it as long as it is convenient for management.
Northrop Grumman management's idea of flexibility is the alternating Friday off.
You don't get to choose whether or not you do 9/80 work schedule. Once a site goes onto 9/80, EVERYBODY at that site works 9/80.
Where's the flexibility? As long as you can get your eighty hours logged onto L/ANS every two weeks, Northrop Grumman management does not care when you come into work - weekends, after hours, etc.
However, the manager will ask that each employee publish their nominal hours - when they come in, when they leave, and when they take their lunch break. This is hard to do if they want to be within California labor laws (there's no federal law requiring that you are given a lunch break.)
SUPPOSEDLY by California law the employee is REQUIRED to take a lunch break (seven-tenths of an hour = 42 minutes?) but many employees will choose to "work through lunch" and not spend as long of a day at Northrop Grumman.
For the working mothers and fathers at Northrop Grumman, 9/80 presents a logistical challenge in getting the little ones to and from child care within the necessary time limits imposed by the various caregivers.
For those folks driving long distances to and from work, a commute time of two to six hours on top of the nominal nine hour workday makes for a very long day.
Nothing but the best for the Northrop Grumman employee.
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Study: Employees with flexible hours work harder, are more satisfied
Northrop Grumman management somehow just knows that the 9/80 work schedule program is favored by the majority of those employees who vote for it as long as it is convenient for management.
Northrop Grumman management's idea of flexibility is the alternating Friday off.
You don't get to choose whether or not you do 9/80 work schedule. Once a site goes onto 9/80, EVERYBODY at that site works 9/80.
Where's the flexibility? As long as you can get your eighty hours logged onto L/ANS every two weeks, Northrop Grumman management does not care when you come into work - weekends, after hours, etc.
However, the manager will ask that each employee publish their nominal hours - when they come in, when they leave, and when they take their lunch break. This is hard to do if they want to be within California labor laws (there's no federal law requiring that you are given a lunch break.)
SUPPOSEDLY by California law the employee is REQUIRED to take a lunch break (seven-tenths of an hour = 42 minutes?) but many employees will choose to "work through lunch" and not spend as long of a day at Northrop Grumman.
For the working mothers and fathers at Northrop Grumman, 9/80 presents a logistical challenge in getting the little ones to and from child care within the necessary time limits imposed by the various caregivers.
For those folks driving long distances to and from work, a commute time of two to six hours on top of the nominal nine hour workday makes for a very long day.
Nothing but the best for the Northrop Grumman employee.
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Still Sore but Less
Vicodin has been a companion, but not as frequently as before.
Nominally it's "Take 1 tablet orally every 6 hours as needed for pain not to exceed 4 tablets in 24 hours."
First three days home I took it as prescribed, taking four tablets in a 24 hour period.
The last three days it's not needed as much, and only took three tablets in a 24 hour period.
Still sore, but differently - I like to think that I am getting better.
Nominally it's "Take 1 tablet orally every 6 hours as needed for pain not to exceed 4 tablets in 24 hours."
First three days home I took it as prescribed, taking four tablets in a 24 hour period.
The last three days it's not needed as much, and only took three tablets in a 24 hour period.
Still sore, but differently - I like to think that I am getting better.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Robert Gates Tries to Get F-35 to Fly Right
I saw this in the latest issue of Time magazine (February 15, 2010) in a article regarding Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
"...as he did on Feb. 1 when he fired the military officer overseeing the Pentagon's new F-35 stealth-fighter jet program for cost overruns and technical failures and punished Lockheed Martin by withholding $615 million in fees. Lots of defense contractors and program managers underachieve, yet they always get away with it. Not with Gates..."
I had to look real hard to see this story in the L.A.Times - it is not big enough news regarding Northrop Grumman, sub-contract to Lockheed Martin on the F-35 to have its own story, as I found it in the eighth paragraph down in the story Pentagon budget calls for more unmanned aircraft.
"Gates announced Monday he was firing the officer in charge of the program and withholding $614 million from Lockheed Martin, the prime F-35 contractor. He said he would appoint a new general or admiral to oversee the program."
The New York Times thought the story was bigger, as it had the February 1 story Gates Shakes Up Leadership for F-35.
"...as he did on Feb. 1 when he fired the military officer overseeing the Pentagon's new F-35 stealth-fighter jet program for cost overruns and technical failures and punished Lockheed Martin by withholding $615 million in fees. Lots of defense contractors and program managers underachieve, yet they always get away with it. Not with Gates..."
I had to look real hard to see this story in the L.A.Times - it is not big enough news regarding Northrop Grumman, sub-contract to Lockheed Martin on the F-35 to have its own story, as I found it in the eighth paragraph down in the story Pentagon budget calls for more unmanned aircraft.
"Gates announced Monday he was firing the officer in charge of the program and withholding $614 million from Lockheed Martin, the prime F-35 contractor. He said he would appoint a new general or admiral to oversee the program."
The New York Times thought the story was bigger, as it had the February 1 story Gates Shakes Up Leadership for F-35.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Blood Pressure and Pulse Rate
As part of the Peritoneal Dialysis regimen, I record my blood pressure and pulse rate twice a day.
My blood pressure has DROPPED to a more "normal" 121/69 this morning, as well as my pulse rate, going from 80 -90 to 65 this morning - this suggests that my heart is now beating more efficiently and effectively - GOOD STUFF!
My blood pressure has DROPPED to a more "normal" 121/69 this morning, as well as my pulse rate, going from 80 -90 to 65 this morning - this suggests that my heart is now beating more efficiently and effectively - GOOD STUFF!
Monday, February 01, 2010
When I Sleep I Don't Move
I notice that I wake up in the same position that I had when I laid down to sleep - flat on my back at night, flat on my back when napping during the day.
This means that I don't move around when I am sleep probably because it HURTS to move, so I DON'T move.
Talked to "Dr. Sam" regarding my Coumadin. I will be working with him to maintain a specific level of Coumadin for the desired anticoagulant effects. Regular blood test tests are needed as well as an awareness of anything and everything that could affect the Coumadin activity.
The Mobile Phlebotomy Service will be coming to our house to take blood from me tomorrow morning.
Wikipedia says that it was a pesticide (sounds better than "Rat Poison", doesn't it?) that was discovered to have it usefulness when "...an incident in 1951, where a US Army inductee unsuccessfully attempted suicide with warfarin and recovered fully, studies began in the use of warfarin as a therapeutic anticoagulant..."
This means that I don't move around when I am sleep probably because it HURTS to move, so I DON'T move.
Talked to "Dr. Sam" regarding my Coumadin. I will be working with him to maintain a specific level of Coumadin for the desired anticoagulant effects. Regular blood test tests are needed as well as an awareness of anything and everything that could affect the Coumadin activity.
The Mobile Phlebotomy Service will be coming to our house to take blood from me tomorrow morning.
Wikipedia says that it was a pesticide (sounds better than "Rat Poison", doesn't it?) that was discovered to have it usefulness when "...an incident in 1951, where a US Army inductee unsuccessfully attempted suicide with warfarin and recovered fully, studies began in the use of warfarin as a therapeutic anticoagulant..."
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